Total Team Effort Powers Duke Past Florida Gulf Coast, 82-63

Sunday, December 10

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

6-4,0-1ACC

Florida Gulf Coast

7-4,0-0ASUN

FGCU

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Total Team Effort Powers Duke Past Florida Gulf Coast, 82-63

12/10/2023 2:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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DURHAM – Duke sophomore guard Taina Mair scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Blue Devils to an, 82-63, victory over Florida Gulf Coast in women's basketball action Sunday afternoon in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils outscored the Eagles 39-25 in the second half to secure the win.

Mair shot 11-for-18 from the floor, dished out four assists and pulled in three rebounds to pace the Blue Devils (6-4, 0-1 ACC). Rookie Oluchi Okananwa dropped in 18 points, knocking down 75 percent of her shots, including going 3-for-3 from behind the arc. The native of Boston, Mass., nabbed five steals and corralled five caroms for another balanced effort.

Duke had four double-digit scorers overall as Ashlon Jackson had 14 and Kennedy Brown contributed 10. Delaney Thomas led the charge on the glass with seven rebounds.

The Blue Devils shot a season-best 57 percent (32-for-56) from the field and forced the Eagles into 22 turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The opening quarter was 10 minutes of back-and-forth action featuring a pair of ties and three lead changes. The Eagles held a 19-17 edge after one session.
Jackson (8), Mair (7) and Okananwa combined for all 17 of the Blue Devils' first-quarter points, with the trio combining to shoot a perfect clip from the field (6-for-6) and at the charity stripe (5-for-5).
Duke made seven of its last eight attempts from the floor and outscored the Eagles 26-19 in the second quarter to take a 43-38 advantage into the break.
Florida Gulf Coast led by as many as five in the period, but a 12-2 run late in the frame allowed the Blue Devils to surge ahead, 40-32, with just under two minutes to play.
Okananwa provided the jolt of energy in the second with 10 points, three steals and two rebounds.
A 7-2 run early in the third pushed Duke's lead to double digits and forced the Eagles to burn a timeout.
The Blue Devils scored eight of the next 10 to extend their run to 15-4 and open a 16-point edge, 58-42, via Brown's finish, off Reigan Richardson's feed, with 4:11 to play.
FGCU managed to pull within single digits late in the quarter, but Okananwa drilled a left-corner triple just before the buzzer to push Duke's lead back to a dozen heading into the fourth.
Duke outscored the Eagles 17-10 in the fourth to lock down the win.

GAME NOTES

The Blue Devils snap a two-game skid and improve to 6-4 on the season and 3-1 all-time against Florida Gulf Coast.
For the game, the Blue Devils shot 57 percent (32-for-56) from the floor, 45 percent (5-for-11) behind the arc and 81 percent (13-for-16) at the free throw line.
The 57-percent clip from the field is the Blue Devils' highest of the year, surpassing the 54.1 percent shot against Richmond.
Duke has shot 40 percent or better from three in six games this season and have made at least five threes in eight contests.
Defensively, the Blue Devils held Florida Gulf Coast to 37 percent from the floor for the game, including 14-for-44 in the first, third and fourth quarters combined. The Blue Devils held the Eagles 10 points below their season scoring average.
Duke shot 75 percent (6-for-8) from the field in the opening quarter, its highest shooting percentage in the frame this season, surpassing the 57.1 percent clip registered at Georgia.
The Blue Devils' first quarter shooting percentage (.750) also tied for second all-time in program history.
Duke set a season high for points in a second quarter with 26, edging out the 24 points scored in the second quarter against Davidson. The 60-percent shooting percentage (9-for-15) in the frame was also the highest of the season.
Duke won the superlative battle in four of five categories – points off turnovers (29-13), points in the paint (44-30), fastbreak (20-8) and bench scoring (28-4).

UP NEXT
The Blue Devils welcome Toledo to the Bull City for a midweek contest slated for Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.

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